As he says the words, a loud explosion rocks the sky and as I dive to the ground, Emilio yells, “What the fuck?”
Chaos erupts around me as his men yell and when the explosion stills, I glance up at the pile of ash that was once Emilio’s warehouse.
“What the fuck is happening?” Emilio is shouting and yet nobody replies, staring at him in horror as he rounds on his men.
“Who did this? Who is responsible for torching the place?”
He turns to me. “It was you.”
He reaches for his gun but I’m faster and as the shot fires, he screams as he collapses to the ground.
I shoot again and this time he roars in agony and I shout, “There will be no killing, not anymore. Call an ambulance and anyone who wants to remain in town under new leadership, report to The Darkside in the morning. It’s business as usual with a different boss. This one is done here.”
I turn away, leaving Emilio squealing on the ground and as I sit astride my bike, I take a deep breath.
Life will change around here for the better. Clara’s businesses will no longer be breeding grounds for corruption and devastation and we will make certain no other fucker attempts to pick up where Emilio and Michael failed.
It’s over.
EPILOGUE
ATOM
FIVE YEARS LATER
It’s busy in the bar tonight. Sweat, mixes with cigarette smoke and loud music replaces conversation. Some of the guys are making out with their latest angel and I’m once again staring into the bottom of a beer bottle.
“Hey.” A soft voice whispers in my ear and two hands slide around my neck. Soft kisses heat my rough skin and in one sudden movement, I swing her around so she sits astride me, her chest pressing into mine as I launch an attack on her soft lips. Her fingers tangle in my hair and the jeers from the guys fall on deaf ears.
When she pulls away, she smiles into my eyes.
“I couldn’t wait.”
“I’m sorry baby. Business ran over today.”
“So I can see.” She nods with an amused grin toward the empty bottle and I wink.
“Purely medicinal. One for the road.”
“You know–” She leans closer and her powerful scent scrambles my senses.
“Candy is babysitting tonight. We have a few hours of freedom left.”
A wicked smile tugs on my lips and I nod toward the door.
“After you.”
She slides from between my legs and as our fingers lace together, I call out to Razor, “It’s all yours. See you tomorrow.”
He nods, untangling the woman from his arms. “Night Atom. Night Clara.”
She waves her goodbyes and as we leave the bar, she slips her hand into mine and whispers, “I love date night.”
We head toward my bedroom. Even though we live in the house we built on the bones of the derelict house, I spend the odd night here.Wespend the odd night here. Date night is our chance to be carefree and irresponsible without the kids interrupting and demanding our time.
Sophia and Maria are as much my blood as the two babies we made together. Two boys, Toby and Zach who are four and two respectively. We wasted no time in starting a family of our own and as soon as the house was built to accommodate us, along with three dogs and two cats, we moved from The Darkside which is still the headquarters of The Dark Angels.
We never found the gold during construction but we found a different kind of gold because it turned out to be our happy place where we live an amazing life together.